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May 15th 2013; 2013 COMPILATION CD
This year's Festival compilation CD is now in production! Sportsmen, Seafarers, Scumbags & Psychos contains 22 tracks from artists appearing at LFF2013 including Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker, You Are Wolf, The Lucky Strikes, Jo Lepine, Crafting For Foes, Sproatly Smith, Plantman, Hladowski & Joynes, Jason Steel, Wounded Knee, Simon Finn, Rapunzel & Sedayne, exclusives from Alasdair Roberts and Greanvine, interludes recorded at Old Leigh's traditonal boxing day festivities and more. The album is a single CD packaged in a foldout card sleeve with artwork from Dom Cooper, and all sales of the CD are ploughed straight back into the Festival funds.
You can pre-order the CD now by clicking here - the expected shipping date is June 10th, and as usual it will also be available from al the info stands over the Festival weekend
May 3rd 2013; OPEN MIC COMPETITON
Once again this year we'll be running an open mic competiton on the Saturday of Festival weekend in St Clement's Chuch. The winner will get to play a short set on the following day in the Old Town. Spaces are limited, so to enter email Mick Davison (mickied@uwclub.net) ASAP.
Apr 22nd 2013; A SPELLBINDING EVENING
Thanks to all who came along to our Witches' Prayer event at Clifftown Theatre last Friday. It was a huge success, with exceptional performances from all involved. Huge thanks also to all the staff at East 15 for ensuring the event ran as smoothly as possible. You can see a full set of photos from the night by clicking here.
Next up is our evening in the company of Andy Kershaw on May 10th at Leigh Community Centre - tickets still available from our webstore.
Apr 9th 2013; NEW FESTIVAL BRANDING FOR 2013
Leigh Folk Festival has a new image for its 2013 events, and it has been designed by 20 year old Elliott Waters from Canvey Island. The design was chosen from 40 which were submitted to the Festival's design competition, set up to seek out and help promote aspiring graphic designers. Tony Prior, festival chairman, said; "We were astounded by not just the scale of the response, but the quality of every submission, each designer had thought carefully about what the festival is at its heart". All of the designs have been uploaded to the Leigh Folk Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/leighfolkfestival.
Elliott said he drew inspiration from the concepts that other similar festivals use because they "have produced an environment for a world of illustrations of landscapes and characters. Reproducing this in a bold cartoon design could work for Leigh Folk Festival". Entrants were given a design brief which meant that designers had to incorporate elements of previous year's designs, illustrating the Festival's ethos, heritage and history in Leigh, whilst introducing the festival to new audiences, and respecting its veterans. Mike Bromfield, who ran the competition on behalf of the committee, said; "I am amazed at how each designer interpreted our brief into some very creative and unique designs, it made our job of picking one incredibly hard. We appreciate the incredible amounts of time, effort and talent went into every entry".
Entries were received from designers from the local area, students at The University of Essex, as well as Canada and Hawaii. Eventual winner Elliott runs his own freelance design company called The Event Live and can be contacted for work at elliot.w@the-event-live.info.
Apr 5th 2013; THE ADVENTURES OF ANDY KERSHAW
The Leigh Folk Festival is delighted to announce a unique evening's entertainment on May 10th 2013 in the company of the celebrated journalist and radio presenter, Andy Kershaw. Andy will be speaking about his colourful life travelling the world in pursuit of new stories and new musical discoveries, amply illustrated with an audio-visual presentation of images and sound clips. He will no doubt cover his formative years as Billy Bragg's personal roadie, how he stumbled into becoming a Radio One DJ, then became a TV presenter of BBC 2's Old Grey Whistle Test and the worldwide Live Aid broadcast, as well as his parallel life as a highly respected foreign correspondent from war zones and hot spots around the planet. He'll also be revisiting tales from his recently published autobiography No Off Switch.
The Festival's Artistic Director Paul Collier comments; "We're very pleased to have enticed Andy down to Leigh for what I think will be a really special evening. He's led such a complex and fascinating life, that I?m certain it'll make for a memorable and stimulating event". He adds; "It's a must for any followers of folk, roots and world music, as well as those interested in the global political affairs of recent decades. Andy has experienced so much, and holds forthright opinions on a great number of topics, so that you can guarantee a fantastic night and no-holds-barred session!".
Andy's presentation will be interspersed with live music from The Famous Potatoes (former guests on Andy's old BBC Radio 3 programme), Tom Burgess, and the Honeygales. The event is to take place at 8pm on Friday May 10th at Leigh Community Centre, Elm Road, Leigh-on-Sea. Tickets may be purchased at local outlets including Leigh Town Council, Fives, Old Leigh Studios and the Book Inn, or online via our webstore here . Prices are 10 pounds in advance or 12 pounds on the door.
Mar 12th 2013; LFF 2013 SPECIAL EVENTS
Tickets are now on sale for the two concerts we're hosting as part of the 2013 Leigh Folk Festival. First up we have legendary guitarist Michael Chapman at the New Road Methodist Church on Friday June 28th at 8pm. Chapman's songwriting and unique, deft playing has found favour with a whole new generation in recent years which has seen his classic Harvest recordings being reissued by Light in the Attic, and new recordings released on super-cool US indie label Tompkins Square. He's also toured with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, himself a huge admirer of Chapman. Support comes from young bucks Matthew Boulter (frontman of immensely popular Southend band The Lucky Strikes), and Jason Steel. Advance tickets are priced at 8 pounds (or 10 pounds on the night).
And then the main event on Saturday June 29th is an evening of Sussex folk song at St Clement's Church, with Shirley Collins' Songs and Southern Breezes audio-visual presentation looking at the song collecting work of Bob Copper, and an hour long set from The Copper Family themselves. Advance tickets are priced at 12 pounds (or 15 pounds on the night).
Tickets for both events, and also our Festival preview concert on April 19th at East15, can be purchased from our webshop here.
Feb 19th 2013; DESIGN COMPETITION
In 2013 Leigh Folk Festival is proud to announce that it is opening a design competition for its t-shirt, programme and additional flier designs. Entrants are invited to download the design brief and come up with designs or pieces of artwork that encompass the 22 year history of Leigh Folk Festival and a winner (or multiple winners) will have their designs printed on the festival's merchandise.
The news comes following the first announcement of the 2013 line up which includes The Copper Family, Shirley Collins, Alasdair Roberts, O'Hooley & Tidow and Michael Chapman. Mike Bromfield, heading up the competition for the Leigh Folk Festival committee, said;
"In 2012 we introduced new ways of encouraging new audiences to the festival, our twitter and Facebook pages were launched and hashtag introduced, this year we want to see the festival encompassed in new designs for print. We can't wait to see how people can illustrate the festival's folk roots, its heritage in Leigh-on-Sea and the atmosphere that has become synonymous with each years events".
The competition has no entry requirements and is open to freelance graphic designers, college and university students, small design businesses and anyone who would like to submit a design. All designs must be submitted by midnight on Saturday March 30th 2013. The design brief, which includes some basic terms and conditions can be downloaded by clicking here (downloads as a PDF file). Submissions and questions can be directed to mike.bromfield@live.co.uk
Also, head to: www.facebook.com/leighfolkfestival or follow us on twitter @LeighFolk and @SouthendYMCA.
Feb 4th 2013; 2013 LINE-UP + PREVIEW CONCERT ANNOUNCED
Hello all - exciting times here as the countdown to the 22nd Leigh Folk Festival truly gets underway with the first announcement of acts playing at LFF 2013, and also details of a Festival preview event happening in April. Firstly, the artists confirmed for the 2013 Leigh Folk Festival, which will be happening in venues across Leigh-on-sea, Essex from June 27th to 30th;
THE COPPER FAMILY, SHIRLEY COLLINS, ALASDAIR ROBERTS, O'HOOLEY & TIDOW, MICHAEL CHAPMAN, VICKI SWAN & JONNY DYER, JOHN HEGLEY, STEPHANIE HLADOWSKI & C JOYNES, SPROATLY SMITH, RAPUNZEL & SEDAYNE, A HARP & A MONKEY, SHARRON KRAUS & NANCY WALLACE, THE ARLENES, THE LUCKY STRIKES, YOU ARE WOLF, JASON STEEL, JOSIENNE CLARKE & BEN WALKER, MATT BOULTER, SIMON FINN TRIO, WOUNDED KNEE, BONES & THE AFT, BONFIRE RADICALS, COLIN & THE CRAWFISH, BOB COLLUM & THE WELFARE MOTHERS, DAN KORN & THE CHOPPY WATERS
As always, the Festival will be a FREE and open event with the exception of 1 or 2 ticketed special events. More details and more acts to be announced very soon.
Secondly, we're very happy to be welcoming back Darren Hayman for a one-off event which we're hosting in conjunction with our friends at Sundown Arts. Witches' Prayer is an evening of storytelling dedicated to the subject of witch trials, told through words, images & music featuring Darren Hayman, Syd Moore, Jason Steel and Greanvine. Advance tickets are 8 pounds and can be purchased from our webshop here.
Dec 30th 2012; WINTER FOLK & ALE FESTIVAL
Happy new year to all our followers! Plans for the 2013 Festival are going well and we already have a stella line-up in place. In the interim we're hosting the "Folk & Ale" event on Southend pier over the 25th and 26th of January. It kicks off on Friday evening with a ceilidh with The Famous Potatoes, followed by a full programme of live music on the Saturday, ending with the Rolling Down the River show in the evening. Day and weekend tickets available, go to www.visitsouthend.co.uk for full details.
Jul 5th 2012; MEMORIES OF A FREE FESTIVAL
LEIGH FOLK FESTIVAL 2012 IN WORDS AND PICTURES (PART ONE)
This year was my third at Leigh Folk Festival, and I'm surprised at how different each year has been, yet all times equally inspiring and enjoyable. It's good to see some familiar faces and old friends from previous years as well as meet new people, hear new music, have my own music reach new ears and enjoy the warm and relaxed atmosphere and hospitality of the town at festival time. Many thanks to Leigh-on-sea for making a travelling Scot feel as much at home as a Scot can feel in distant Essex! / Alasdair Roberts, artist
My first festival as a volunteer - fantastic, can we do it again next week? / Ian Flack, volunteer
Despite some minor aberrations, the Festival was one of, if not the very best I have attended - and I've now been to all 21 of them. On Saturday, the weather was reasonably kind to us all and in particular, it allowed the Club Stage in lower Library Gardens to reach the potential we all knew was achievable, with an atmospheric location and host of talented performers. Although there may have been a little of the wet stuff dropping from the sky on Sunday, it did nothing dampen the enthusiasm and somehow added to the easy-going atmosphere that developed later in the afternoon. In fact by tea time when the sun came through, everyone was so laid back that nobody wanted the music to stop - not even those who had been at it since Thursday. Thanks to all who devoted their time, energy and skills to make it a very special weekend / Tony Prior, LFFA chairman
It is absolutely overwhelming what your team is able to put together with such scant resources and with such a great atmosphere / MF, UAE
Excellent work on the Festival... I'm a long time Glastonbury goer, but over recent years have chosen to stay at home for the Leigh Folk Festival - it's a real credit to the area / JH, Westcliff
We played between the raindrops to a welcoming and eager crowd, what else can you ask for! Hope to see many more of you next year / Burton Bradstock, artist
Possibly the greatest weekend ever. Much love to Jason Garth Steel, Nancy Wallace, Diana Collier, Rif Mountain, Roshi feat Pars Radio, Sharron Kraus, Galley Beggar, Alasdair Roberts and Olivia Chaney. It was wonderful / SC, Leigh
Heading across the country from Bath, I had no preconceptions of what a fantastic weekend it would turn out be! Friends met and made, songs to wake up to or while away an evening, performers and audience giving their time freely and changing roles in due course... it was a couple of days that made you relax, think and believe in people all over again. It is now going to be a permanent fixture in my diary so I look forward to seeing you again / Tim Graham, artist
What a brilliant festival!!!!!!!!!! Massive thanks to all those volunteers from all at the folk club! And especially to Paul Collier and Tony Prior, who I saw were literally out on their feet by the close of play. Top hole chaps! / MD, Leigh
To be continued...
Nov 13th 2011; ALASDAIR ROBERTS VIDEO
Check out this video of friend of the Leigh Folk Festival Alasdair Roberts performing the title track from his 2003 album Farewell Sorrow...
